Archibald "Middenface" McNulty is a fictional character from the series Strontium Dog appearing in the British comic anthology 2000 AD, as well as his own spin-off series. He is a frequent companion of the series' star, Johnny Alpha.
The story is set in 22nd-century Scotland, which has been warped by radioactive fallout where mutants are the underclass of future Britain. McNulty grew up in the Scottish mutant ghetto called Shytehill (a reference to Sighthill - the Scottish slang term for shit is 'shite').
Middenface gets his nickname from his signature mutation – his skull is covered in hard, knobby bumps which range in size, number and density depending on the artist. Although this mutation is usually portrayed in the comics as purely cosmetic, there have been instances where Middenface shows to have an unnaturally hard skull. Either dealing blows with it or sustaining blows to it that would kill a normal man.
Like all the members of the Search/Destroy agency he is a seasoned guerrilla fighter. He has had experience in fighting for his life, leading attacks, and defending himself and others against fanatical hatred and violence since the age of ten.
He first appeared in Portrait of a Mutant, the Scottish leader of the rebels in the mutant war and an ally of a young Johnny Alpha. After the war, he became a Search Destroy Agent and first appeared in the present day in Outlaw; he appeared infrequently after this, and after the death of Johnny's partner Wulf Sternhammer, McNulty would become Johnny's new partner in many strips. Initially, he had a running gag of his Scottish dialect being incomprehensible to the English characters but this would be dialed down – his hooligan ways would continue to be a source of humour though.
In "The Life and Death of Johnny Alpha" in 2010, a retired Middenface was shown with a genuine drinking problem following Johnny Alpha's death.
Young Middenface
Young Middenface was a long-running black and white strip featured in Judge Dredd Megazine. Alan Grant wrote and created the story. It was drawn by various artists, the last one being Shaun Thomas. Ellie De Ville provided lettering.
The strip begins with a young, teenage McNulty as a juvenile delinquent on the streets of Shytehill. The story follows him in his path to becoming a mutant guerilla and eventually the leader, filling in the gaps before his debut in "Portrait of a Mutant". Forced into guerilla activism after becoming a fugitive, he becomes a highly violent and reckless soldier. The deaths of many of his friends fuel his hatred for the mutant-killing Kreeler police.
Eventually[volume&issueneeded], with the threat of the genocidal Sir William "Stinking Billy" Cumberland (the name and nickname of the Duke of Cumberland who crushed the 1745 Jacobite uprising in Scotland) becoming Head of Kreelers in Scotland, the Scottish Mutant Army launches an uprising. They overrun the Kreelers, capture multiple cities and then the Scottish Parliament building (still not fully paid for in the 2160s), but are unprepared when Cumberland simply blows up Parliament instead. Kreeler reinforcements forces the mutants into a retreat, making a last stand at Killoden theme park where they are massacred in their tens of thousands. On the back of this, Cumberland becomes First Minister of Scotland. Middenface and the surviving resistors continue to fight and at last succeed in assassinating Cumberland.[volume&issueneeded]
The stories make use of Scots slang and dialect and the storylines often subtly (or otherwise) refer to contemporary Scottish politics, society and culture. "Brigadoom!" and "'Midnapped!", parody the musical Brigadoon and the classic Robert Louis StevensonScottish novelKidnapped, but with twists. The mystical village of Brigadoom is made up entirely of cannibals led by Sawney Bean, who happen to break into song for no reason.
A midden is a waste pit. The term is still used in Scotland and has come by extension, to refer to anything that is a mess, including people. This reflects McNulty's rather knobbly and unattractive face.
Judge Dredd is a comic book franchise based on the longest-running comic strip in 2000 AD (1977), a British weekly anthology comic.
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic magazine. As a comics anthology it serialises stories in each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. Since 2000 it has been published by Rebellion Developments.
Judge Cassandra Anderson is a fictional law enforcer and psychic appearing in the British science fiction comics 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine. Created by writer John Wagner and artist Brian Bolland, Anderson made her debut as a supporting character in the Judge Dredd story "Judge Death". The character's popularity with readers led to her starring in her own series, Anderson: Psi-Division, which has been written almost exclusively by Alan Grant, often working with artist Arthur Ranson until 2005; Boo Cook drew a majority of the stories until 2012, since which a number of different artists have worked on the strip. In 2012, the character appeared in the film Dredd, played by Olivia Thirlby.
John Wagner is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. He is best known as the co-creator, with artist Carlos Ezquerra, of the character Judge Dredd.
Strontium Dog is a long-running British comics series featuring in the British science fiction weekly 2000 AD, starring Johnny Alpha, a mutant who lives in Earth's future and works as a bounty hunter, armed with an array of high-tech gadgets and weapons, as well as an "alpha radiation" power that lets him read minds and see through walls and other surfaces. At times, he has encountered the other popular 2000 AD character Judge Dredd by journeying into the past via time travel, but it is ambiguous whether Johnny Alpha's future world is the fate of Dredd's timeline or one of several possibilities.
Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra was a Spanish comics artist who worked mainly in British comics. He is best known as the co-creator of Judge Dredd.
John McCrea is a comic book artist best known for his collaborations with writer Garth Ennis.
Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy.
Robbie Morrison is a British comics writer most known for his work in the weekly UK title 2000 AD, and as the co-creator of popular character and series Nikolai Dante, serialised for 15 years until 2012.
Durham Red is a British comics character, originally created in 1987 as a female sidekick and lover for Johnny Alpha in the long-running comic book series Strontium Dog in 2000 AD. She is a bounty hunter with a mutation that gives her a vampiric lust for blood.
Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.
2000 AD crossovers are crossover stories appearing in British comic 2000 AD, its sister title the Judge Dredd Megazine, and other related output, such as novels, audio plays, films and role-playing games.
"Judgement Day" is a story of British science fiction character Judge Dredd. It was first published with alternating episodes in both 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine in 1992. It was the first crossover between the two publications; three more have since followed. It was also a crossover with another 2000 AD series, Strontium Dog, as it featured the second occasion on which Judge Dredd confronted Johnny Alpha. It was written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra, Peter Doherty, Dean Ormston and Chris Halls.
John Ridgway is a British comics artist.
This is a list of works by Scottish author Alan Grant.
Mutants are the subject of a number of stories in the Judge Dredd science fiction series published in British comics 2000 AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine. Mutants are genetically-flawed, physically deformed people who are the subject of prejudice and apartheid in the 22nd century. Although they have appeared in Judge Dredd since the strip's earliest stories in 1977, a major story arc beginning with "Mutants in Mega-City One" in June 2007 and ending with "Tour of Duty" in July 2010 dealt specifically with their struggle against apartheid in Dredd's city, Mega-City One.
John Wagner has worked on a wide range of British comics most notably working on Judge Dredd and the various spin-offs.
"Tour of Duty" is a Judge Dredd story published in British comic 2000 AD (2009–2010). It lasted for 46 episodes, 39 of which were written by John Wagner. It has the second greatest number of episodes and pages (285) of any Judge Dredd story. It is part of a longer storyline about mutants.
Strontium Dog: Down to Earth is a Big Finish Productions audio drama, a spin-off from its successful series featuring Judge Dredd in the British comic 2000 AD.
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